The King's Arrow eBook

His wife, a gentle and refined woman, never agreed
with him in his disloyalty to the King. At first
she pleaded and reasoned, but at last gave up in despair,
and devoted herself to her simple household affairs,
and the training of her one child, the only comfort
of her solitary life. When at length she left
him and he laid her body to rest at the foot of a
big pine tree, he was a heart-broken man. He
understood when it was too late what she had meant
to him. Then when Dane, influenced by his mother’s
teaching, left him to become one of the King’s
rangers, his cup of sorrow was filled to overflowing.
For months after he lived a lonely life within his
silent house, dreaded by the slashers and Indians
alike. The latter shunned his solitary abode,
and always spoke of him on rare occasions as the chief
with the “twisted head.”

When, however, the English forces were defeated, and
the war brought to a close, Norman’s hopes again
revived. He became active once more, feeling
certain that the Indians and others would now side
with the conquerors and wrest England’s grip
from the valley of the St. John River. The King’s
mast-cutters had been a source of continual worry to
him. Why should those great pines be used for
the royal navy? he asked. They belonged to the
natives and other occupants of the land, and should
be reserved for future needs. The marking of
the choicest trees with the broad arrow filled his
heart with bitterness, and his words so aroused the
rebel brood around him that they decided to drive
the mast-cutters out of the country, and put a stop
to the business. The arrival of thousands of
Loyalists also stirred him deeply, and he spread the
report, which was readily taken up, that the newcomers
would settle on all the good land, slaughter the game,
and force the rightful owners to leave.

The failure of the attempt upon the Loyalists during
the fall, and the carrying of Flazeet and Rauchad
to Fort Howe had only embittered the rebels who had
not taken part in the affair. They roused to
action, and determined to wreak revenge upon the mast-cutters
between the St. John and the A-jem-sek. They
had arranged their plans with much secrecy, but they
learned at the last minute that in some mysterious
manner word had reached the rangers, who were hastening
to the assistance of the King’s men. There
was, accordingly, no time to lose. They must
strike at once, and then vanish into the depths of
the forest.

Thomas Norman was well aware of this proposed attack
upon the mast-cutters. Although he did not oppose
it, he took little interest in the matter. In
fact, he had very little ambition for anything.
He was feeling somewhat weary during the fall, and
the silence of his house was more depressing than
ever. During the lonely days, and still more
lonely nights, he thought much about the past.
He knew that he had made a failure of life, and that
he had nothing to live for now. At times he would
endeavor to fan the coals of rebellion by reading
“King Lear,” “Timon of Athens,”
and the story of Old Aeneas. But the effect
was never lasting, and when the artificial stimulation
subsided he was more depressed than ever.